April 30 (Bloomberg) — Australian aboriginal groups will seek “economic partnerships” with ventures planning to develop liquefied natural gas projects in the far northeast, the head of a group representing indigenous communities in the region said.

Such alliances are the best way to ensure “responsible development” of the gas reserves in the Browse Basin, which could yield A$20 billion ($19 billion) a year in revenue for more than 50 years, Wayne Bergmann of the Kimberley Land Council said today in Canberra. The government needs to help ensure indigenous people benefit from the resources “boom,” he said.read more

April 30 (Bloomberg) — A Nigerian oil workers’ union is sending members back to work today as part of a bargaining agreement as talks with management at Exxon Mobil Corp.’s local unit were scheduled to resume.

Union and company representatives will meet at 10 a.m. local time today in Abuja in an attempt to end a seven-day strike that has cut crude output by 860,000 barrels a day, according to Olusola George-Olumoroti, branch chairman of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.read more

Rarely can there have been such a clear case of the embarrassment of riches.

Not many companies reporting a near-50 per cent rise in profits would immediately explain away much of the growth and warn of more challenging times ahead but that is what BP did yesterday.

Cazenove calculated that it was the biggest positive quarterly earnings surprise BP had ever given investors, with replacement cost earnings more than $1.4bn (£705m) higher than the consensus of analysts’ forecasts.read more

In more than 2,000 metres of water off the coast of Brazil, Petrobras, the Brazilian national oil company, is drilling what could become one of most important oil wells of recent years.

Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive of Petrobras, told the Financial Times that results from a well now being drilled in the offshore Carioca field, the subject of fevered excitement, should provide some answers about its true potential in about three months’ time.read more

For Royal Dutch Shell, which has been dogged by concerns about falling production, the rise in its first-quarter output reported yesterday, though small, was particularly welcome. The reason was the growth in its gas business.

Shell still has 164,000 barrels per day of production shut-in as a result of the violence in Nigeria, and its total crude oil production was 6 per cent lower in the first quarter of this year than the equivalent period of 2007. But gas production was up 9 per cent.read more

Mega-cap energy stocks are not supposed to move this much. Yesterday’s first-quarter figures from BP and Shell – comfortably above consensus in both cases – sent the pair’s shares up about 6 per cent. Investors may have been waiting for an excuse to pile back in; BP had underperformed the sector by 13 per cent over the past 12 months and Shell had lagged behind by 8 per cent.read more

Shell, BP, Chevron, Exxon and all of you other money grubbing oil fat cats should be hung up and beaten like scalded dogs. YOur practices sicken me and the rest of the world. I hope we find another source of power that has nothing to do with oil so we can see your fat butts suffer like the rest of us. We have a baby on the way and now that childs future is in jeopardy and she hasn’t even been born yet. Mommy and daddy can’t afford to put gas in the car to get to two separate jobs. You should be ashamed of yourselves.read more

Gordon Brown stepped into a growing row about oil company profits yesterday, calling on BP and Shell to spend more of their combined £7bn first-quarter earnings on activity in the North Sea.

The prime minister’s comments came as lorry drivers took a protest on the soaring cost of petrol to central London, while other motoring organisations and environmentalists accused the oil industry of profiteering at the expense of car drivers and the planet.read more

The price of power and who foots the bill for Britain’s rocketing energy costs took centre stage yesterday as the oil giants Shell and BP unveiled huge combined profits of £7.2bn, made in just three months, and consumers were hit with a new round of steep rises in prices from gas and electricity to air travel.

Npower, Britain’s fourth largest domestic power supplier, signalled the start of what experts said will be another round of price increases in gas and electricity after it abolished its cheapest online dual fuel tariff and raised charges for new internet customers by up to 20 per cent. Industry analysts expect all energy bills to rise by another 20 to 25 per cent by next spring, pushing another one million Britons into fuel poverty.read more

Seeing petrol prices rise on the electronic boards outside filling stations is nothing compared to the shock when it comes to paying. A year ago the driver of an average-sized family saloon would have left the forecourt with a £60 bill for a full tank of petrol. The same driver will now be nursing a £70 hole in the pocket. Diesel users have had it even worse. Today they will be lucky to leave the pumps with change out of £80. The price of diesel has risen by a quarter in the past 12 months and by nearly half since 2003.read more

Without the inflated earnings of multinationals, we’d be even worse off than we are now

April 30, 2008
Carl Mortished

Hurrah for big oil profits. Seven million dollars an hour for BP and Shell, as the cost of jet kerosene bankrupts airlines and dear diesel puts up the price of just about everything from corn flakes to cucumbers. The cheer is not ironic; we should celebrate these gazillion- dollar profits because our world is now in deep trouble and without the grotesquely inflated earnings of the oil multinationals, we should be even deeper in the mire.read more

Oil is becoming scarcer and harder to produce. Several former big areas of oil production are in decline while other top oil-producing countries, including Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, are either unwilling or unable to lift production. Chinese demand is expected to more than double by 2030. Hedge funds and investment banks have been placing big bets that oil prices will continue to rise, amplifying the volatility in prices.
Is petrol rising in tandem with oil?read more

Daily Telegraph: Nigeria’s Delta is where Western oil giants meet local militants

Last Updated: 1:21am BST 30/04/2008

Political unrest has made the Niger Delta a high-risk region for Western majors and their staff, write Russell Hotten and Mike Pflanz

It is early morning, just after the 7pm-to-6am curfew is lifted, and convoys of minibuses led and tailed by armed escorts speed oil industry workers to their offices, refineries and workshops. The threat of kidnap is everywhere. Oil pipelines and facilities are regularly attacked. For employees of Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and a host of other companies, there is no such thing as a normal day at the office.
Welcome to Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest crude exporter – but where concerns about the worsening security situation have contributed to the recent surge in oil prices.read more

A surging oil price has showered investors with a $5bn (£2.5bn) bonanza earned in just 12 weeks, with further payouts throughout the year expected to make 2008 a record for shareholders.

The dividend payouts announced yesterday on the back of bumper profits by Royal Dutch Shell and BP, Europe’s two biggest oil companies, will deliver much needed cheer to investors, both private individuals and the institutions that manage the country’s pension schemes including Legal & General and Standard Life.read more

The Times: Outcry as Shell and BP make billions on back of price rises

Wednesday April 30, 2008
Robin Pagnamenta and David Robertson

Surging oil prices helped to boost profits at BP and Royal Dutch Shell to a combined record of £7.2 billion for the first quarter of the year.

Amid growing accusations of profiteering by big oil companies, it also emerged that BP had earned a one-off trading profit of $400 million (£203 million) by correctly betting on the direction of oil and gas prices.

The figures provoked an immediate outcry from campaign groups, which said it was a disgrace that at a time of increased public concern about climate change Shell and BP were earning their biggest profits, while compounding the problem of rising global carbon emissions.read more

SHELL BLOG

Comments

Bogus Group: Further to my post on this blog, 28 August'17, there may be some interest an an article in yesterday's Upstream "Trial set for clash of LNG players".

TotallyHackedOff: Shell - as I am sure with many global super majors- is heavy with narcissists at all levels. Lots of people like Trump rollicking around- get in their way and you’re a gonner! See you later Rexy baby!

TotallyHackedOff: In reply to Bonus Group and Another Concerned Employee- its clear reading from your posts that Shell and BG shared many business cultural similarities making the tie-up an obvious one. I know of a few Shell employees who resigned, joined BG and are now back at Shell again- it stinks of a plant/trojan horse ending! It is well known that Shell has an 'inner circle' and if you find yourself outside that as many of the technical folk do, you don't stand a chance. Its all a bit wink, wink nudge, nudge. I even remember one manager (now a VP of something) telling me how I needed to 'read between the lines' which made me think it was all a load of bollocks and how the politically adept arse kissers rose through the ranks blissfully unaware of how their actions impacted their colleagues. The alpha men and women were all the same- keen to get ahead at anyones expense and doing secret backroom deals. Its one ginormous playground and the bullies will win as they are keeping the other bullies in place.

Bonus Group: 'Another Concerned Employee'talks about Shell's 'scooby-doo' business priciples, BG's were just as opaque. If you asked someone in HR about policy you would be deflected to 'The Portal' and left to fend for yourself. Often the policies conflicted with each other and had no foundation in law. This was reflected in the hypocritical management 'do as I say, not as I do' policy.
The closest experience most of BG Senior Management had of oil rigs and platforms was reading about them in comic books. The Brasil Asset was a complete shambles with its 'Simple Simon' approach to geoscience and cappuccino lifestyle. Unfortunately, most of these overpaid sociopaths migrated to Shell and are waiting, mouth's open for their next bonus. Shell must be trying hard to find ways to cover up grotesque errors in reserves booked by this Asset. Hopefully, Shell's assurance process is better than BG's with its £2Bn failure.

Yet Another Concerned Employee: Carillion, for whom the bell tolls! Remarkable that a Shell Executive should have a finger in this pie with its aggressive auditing practices. More 'pulling the wool' over the shareholder's eyes. Were the auditors asleep at the wheel when this was happening? There should be a full investigation, and those responsible made accountable. Perhaps, sunny Brunei is a safe haven? I wonder what the extradition treaties between the UK and Brunei are?

Another Concerned Employee: Shell HR finds it easy to overlook its fake scooby doo business principles whenever it suits them. A number of staff implicit in OPL and the spin doctors trying desperately to cover up the crisis are still on payroll. It won't surprise anyone that Ceri was one of Brinded's loyal lapdogs during his dictatorship. Also no surprise she landed such a sweet job in Brunei.

Concerned Employee: Not sure if you know but..
Cerie Powell - ex EVP exploration now MD Brunei Shell Petroleum was a non exec director of Carillion (now in liquidation). She resigned once she was demoted to Brunei in 2016 (?) but given the news around the legacy issues involving Carillion, should she really hold a senior position in Shell Group ?

Bonus Group: It is understandable that a niche now exists in the market for a company similar to BG Group, but for Neptune Energy to set its aim at emulating and becoming like BG is nothing short of horrifying. Why anyone should wish to recreate the inept management, twisted HR policies and rancid technical half truths of BG Group in order to deceive the shareholders is beyond comprehension. If they do, then the Serious Fraud Office should be on the alert. Sammy 'two pools', whose past remit included selling Enterprise Oil to Shell, rather than ENI is made of sterner stuff. That said, his nuclear ambitions did fall somewhat short of those of Kim Yong Un. Let's wish Neptune Energy a long, scandal free future and greater integrity than bungling BG with its House of Cards and flamboyant ineptitude.

Bogus Group: Following the acquisition of Engie the Financial Times headline “Neptune Energy sets aim on being the next BG Group” may have sent a chill through some. To think there could possibly be a rise from the ashes is an alarming prospect
However there was some comfort in the company chairman statement “We have the opportunity to take the time to get it right”.
Hopefully this means their Ethics and Compliance foundation will actually be more than just another policy open to distortion by misconduct.

Bill Campbell: Is the New York City case against Oil Companies justifiable or just hot air?

Many, if not all prestigious US scientific journals estimate largest source of air pollution in US is caused by vehicle emissions. Current estimates that US has some 260 million automobiles and 11 million trucks. It is the daily emissions from these vehicles that are the cause of scientific concern. But anybody visiting Florida, and following a construction truck, will be familiar with black smoke in copious amounts emitting from the vertical exhaust pipe, sometimes it's so bad it can restrict your vision but Florida is not the only state of the US that does not require emission control, there are many more, monitoring for example (like a UK vehicle MOT) is not legally required or carried out.

So perhaps De Blasio should start suing these delinquent states.

In any case, I find the whole matter ludicrous in a country, where their President claims that human activity is not related in any way to global warming and appoints a head of EPA who is also so inclined (a man described by NY Times as an arsonist in the Fire Station) so why does Shell et all not call as witnesses in their defence the current EPA Director, or otherwise why does De Blasio not start by suing those states that allow millions of vehicles to pollute the atmosphere daily.
Bill

Bonus Group: Further to my last post on this blog. Sound Energy have now arranged a slap-up bean feast for their shareholders to be held on 15th February at Grace Hall, Leadenhall Street, London. Drinks at Carriages afterwards. Dress is formal so don't expect too energetic a food fight. Attendees must pay for their own tickets! All will be revealed about the new Coro strategy. You may recall that Sound shareholders will receive Coro shares as a result of the divestment of Sound's Italian assets. The question is whether Sound shareholders will end up in the soup.

Bonus Group: There are rumblings in the ether about Rockhopper Exploration plc having failed to perform Due Diligence with integrity in respect of their purchase of the Italian focused company Mediterranean Oil and Gas (MOG) in 2014, and in particular MOG's asset, the Ombrina Mare oil field.
Following the decision in February 2016 by the Ministry of Economic Development not to award the company a production concession covering the Ombrina Mare field, the company has considered its legal options with regard to obtaining damages and compensation from the Republic of Italy for breaching the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Could this have anything to do with the sudden and unexpected departure of Rockhopper's Chief Operating Officer, one 'Good Time' Fiona MacAuley? Fiona, a Chartered Geologist, started her career with Mobil North Sea Limited in 1985 and has subsequently held key roles in a number of leading oil and gas firms across large mid and small cap E&Ps including BG and Hess.
Fiona is now Chief Executive Officer of Echo Energy plc where Stephen Whyte (also ex BG) is a Non-Executive Director, previously having been Chairman of Sound Energy. Fiona will also become a Non-Executive Director of Saffron Energy plc. It is proposed that Saffron acquires Sound Energy's portfolio of Italian interests and permits through the acquisition by Saffron of Sound Energy Holdings Italy Limited (SEHIL). SEHIL holds all of Sound Energy's Italian oil and gas interests through its own wholly owned subsidiary, Apennine Energy SpA (APN). It is proposed that Saffron will be renamed Coro Energy plc.
This is yet another 'reverse takeover' by the Sound Energy/Echo Energy Team. The share options for the directors are raining on them like confetti. Could there be bonuses in store for the Directors of this association of companies where the paint is never allowed to dry?
Plenty of 'smoke and mirrors' and wool being pulled over the shareholders' eyes in this can of worms.

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